NC storm victims say FEMA assistance spotty

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved just 23 percent of the requests for assistance it has received in the three months since tornadoes tore across North Carolina killing 24 people.

WRAL reports Tuesday that FEMA has given approval to 2,205 of 9,700 applications for grants or loans worth $18 million.

FEMA officials say they make their decisions based on factors such as whether insurance covered losses, whether a home was livable, and whether the applicant finished all necessary paperwork.

A common complaint among residents is that FEMA hasn’t moved fast enough. One resident said she and her teenage children slept in a car for days.

FEMA officials said it is complicated handling thousands of aid requests.